Tag: Review

Doctor Strange (Review)

Doctor Strange (Review)

Doctor Strange tells the origin story of the titular Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), a famous neurosurgeon who loses the use of his hands in a car accident.  In his desperation, he seeks the help of a group of mystics and sorcerers led by the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton).  As he learns the mystic arts, he must battle with Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen), a rogue sorcerer who is trying to find a way to bring eternal life to the people.

There was a lot of controversy around the film regarding the casting of Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One and the stereotypical tropes that Doctor Strange relies on (the exotic East as a source of mysterious power).  People who know me know that I was pretty upset by these things but what they probably don’t know is the reason why I was upset.  It wasn’t because I thought the movie would be terrible before I’ve even seen it and that nobody should enjoy this movie because of these reasons.  Its because it’s a problem that somehow still continues to exist in the movie industry today.  Hollywood would always rather hire a white actor over an asian actor because they sell.  The common audience don’t often go to Asian countries to see what it’s actually like there, so they don’t ask questions when these stereotypes crop up again and again.  If it seems like I’m targeting this film in particular, it’s simply because it’s the most recent example of these problems.

Did any of these problems stop me from enjoying this movie?  Hell no.

The movie reminds me a lot of the original Iron Man movie with it’s smaller, simpler narrative.  Dr. Strange also reminds me a lot of Tony Stark, though, regrettably, Benedict Cumberbatch doesn’t quite have the same charisma that Robert Downey Jr. does.  Benedict Cumberbatch is a brilliant actor, though, and he does his job as Dr. Strange incredibly well.  In fact, this entire cast of characters was surprisingly well put together.  Tilda Swinton plays the part of the Ancient One with grace and poise but also with ferocity, making her one of my favorite characters in the movie.  Chiwetel Ejiofor is both charismatic and harsh as Mordo, Strange’s ally in arms.  Even Mads Mikkelsen as Kaecilius garners some sympathy, but only in the one scene he gets to be sympathetic, which continues the trend of Marvel villains being boring.

The only actress to really get the short end of the stick is Rachel McAdams, who is relegated to being the token girlfriend.  Even though she has her own life and is an accomplished nurse, her whole role in the movie is to be the representation of Strange’s former life.  Maybe I’m being too harsh because, to be fair, they used to be lovers but they broke up after the accident, which makes her more of the token friend.  Still, I hope that if they plan to use her again in the future, that they actually give her more to do than patch up Strange.

The main issue with the film is that it relies on so many tropes that this movie feels more like a paint by numbers Marvel movie.  The only part that was different is in how Strange deals with the issues.  He might very well be the only one in the entire MCU whose first instinct isn’t to fight or kill anyone.  As a doctor, he’s tasked with saving lives, not taking them and it was nice to see him solve problems through bargaining rather than killing.

I’ve listed numerous problems the film has but I still enjoyed the movie.  People seem to forget that you can both enjoy a movie immensely and still be aware of the problematic things that exist within it and by contrast to other movies, the problems in this movie are small in comparison.  Tilda Swinton is fantastic and ended up being my favorite character.  All in all, it’s a fun movie with some of the trippiest visuals I’ve ever seen.

Kubo and the Two Strings (Review)

Kubo and the Two Strings (Review)

If you must blink, do it now.

These are the words that started the movie and I have to say, I honestly cannot remember if I blinked.  I do remember doing my best to keep my eyes open so I didn’t miss a thing.  From the first frame, I was instantly engrossed in this epic of a story, unlike anything I had ever seen.  And yet today, I can say that thinking back, I still missed some key details that almost certainly require a second viewing.

Set in Ancient Japan, the film tells the tale of Kubo (Art Parkinson), a one-eyed boy who makes a living as a storyteller, bringing origami figures to life to enact the tales and exploits of his samurai father, Hanzo.  Every night, he must return home to his mentally handicapped mother before the moon rises or else his mother and grandfather will find him and take his other eye.  One night, however, he stays out too late and is forced to run away and find his father’s old armor, as it is the only thing that will protect him.  He is accompanied on his quest by Monkey (Charlize Theron), a stoic and harsh wooden charm brought to life by his mother and Beetle (Matthew McConaughey), an amnesiac samurai cursed to take the form of a beetle.

Right from the beginning the movie is not about a quest to find a father’s old armor.  It’s about a young boy’s quest to discover who his parents are and about family and that is evident from the very first scene.  A mother caught in a storm at sea, capsized and cracking her skull on a rock and crawling desperately to protect her crying baby is an image that I was not prepared to witness at the beginning of a kids movie.  There are some very intense moments in this film that made me wonder if this movie should really be rated PG.

Then again, I’m not a kid anymore and I should remember that kids can handle quite a bit.  I remember as a kid watching a chinese cartoon where a child slits his own throat in order to save his father’s kingdom from 4 dragons.  As a kid, I didn’t understand that he was committing suicide.  I understood that he was sacrificing himself to save the kingdom (by the way, the movie in question is called Prince Nezha’s Triumph Against Dragon King).

Movies have a unique way of transporting us to another world and Kubo and the Two Strings is no exception.  It is a world steeped in Japanese fairy tale, mythology and folklore.  It is rare to find an American movie that is based in a different country’s culture and it is also refreshing to find a movie that is so unique.  The only complaint I have about the film would be the ending which seems more like the ending to an American fairy tale over an ending an Asian fairy tale would have.

Ultimately, the movie is about the journey and probably more about beginnings.  It’s touching, its intense, its funny and its everything I ever wanted from a movie.

Jason Bourne (Review)

Jason Bourne (Review)

The fifth film in the Bourne film series, Jason Bourne is a direct sequel to The Bourne Ultimatum, completely skipping over The Bourne Legacy (a fact that I am quite thankful for).  It follows the story of the titular black ops agent Jason Bourne as he uncovers yet more information of his past as he tries to come to terms with who he is and the things he has done.

I’ve always enjoyed the Bourne films.  The plot of each film was always engaging, with each moment having me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next.  So I was saddened to see the latest Jason Bourne film and just not care about anything that was happening.

Don’t get me wrong.  The filmmaking is impeccable.  Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon have never been better in their fourth collaboration with each other.  Paul Greengrass has always been a unique director in Hollywood because of how documentary-like his films are.  It did always make watching the action sequences a challenge because of how shaky the cameras were.  Just a wee bit of motion sickness to go along with your action packed movie.  No biggie.

The other stand-out performance in the movie is Alicia Vikander, who plays the head of the CIA Cyber Ops division.  As the movie kept going, I took a shine to her and her indomitable will to advance her career no matter what.  Indeed, her character was the only one that I actually found interesting and wanted to see what happened next in her arc.

Having said that, not even Paul Greengrass’ directing and editing style, Matt Damon’s action role and Alicia Vikander’s badassness can hide the fact this movie is completely pointless.  I don’t mean pointless as in “just another dumb action movie” pointless.  I mean “there was no reason for this movie to be made” pointless.

As I watched the movie, I just didn’t feel as invested in the movie as I had in previous films.  Everything about it just felt like a paint by numbers piece.  Government conspiracy? Check.  A reason for Jason Bourne to return to the States? Check.  An action-packed sequence with Matt Damon fighting another operative? Check.  Jason Bourne getting away from his pursuers in a crowd of people?  Check.

None of the new revelations in the film seemed to add anything.  As I watched each new piece of information being revealed about Jason Bourne’s life, I found myself thinking back to how I reacted to the revelation of how the White Walkers were created in Game of Thrones.  I realized that I had the exact same reaction: I didn’t need to know any of that.  None of that changed how I feel about the character or the wider story told in the series.  It’s just another reason to get the movie going.  The film even tries to add in some Post-9/11 themes of “safety vs. privacy” just to make it interesting.  Suffice it to say, it was not subtle about it and it came and went without even a backward glance.

That’s what it boils down to in the end.  The film is trying desperately to justify another film but in the end, the reasons just aren’t worth it, and the film suffers because of it.  In the end, I was watching this Jason Bourne movie and I was absolutely bored.  Even Tommy Lee Jones seemed bored with the film, though that could just be his acting style.

I feel that the Jason Bourne series is done.  His journey was complete at the end of The Bourne Ultimatum.  I look back on The Bourne Legacy and think to myself “at least that movie was doing something different, even if it didn’t follow through with it.”  If you’re looking for a Matt Damon action movie, then you could do a lot worse.  If you’re looking for a substantial, meaningful and worthy addition to the Bourne series, then you should just rewatch the original trilogy and forget this one exists.